Are you already planning a killer at home Valentine’s Day dinner, or will you be spending the night out with someone special? Valentine’s Day falls on Saturday this year which means two things – I will have time to actually make dinner and I won’t be wanting to deal with everyone else out at the restaurants! Weekends and I just don’t get along when it comes to dining out. So, I guess this one is on me! When it comes to special meals, I love the plotting and scheming. I love planning a menu and coming up with a really […]

Is everyone else ready for the weekend? I know I am. I am second shooting a wedding at the beautiful Delaware History Museum and planning on spending Sunday taking my sweet time, sipping on one (or possibly two) of these deadly little girl scout cookie inspired Tagalong Bourbon Shakes and mandating some much needed sit on my booty around the fire time off. It’s been all hands on deck, with no sign of things slowing down in the future – and you know what? I am ready for it. Excited for it. I’m excited about a lot of things these days…. […]

It’s an extra special jam packed post today. Why? Because it’s cookbook club day! Because Breakfast for Dinner is the best thing ever. Because making pasta by hand makes it really hard to not take messy step by step photos and cover your fancy camera in pasta goo. Because we’re giving away a copy of our featured cookbook this month! Because it’s sunny! Ok… got a little carried away there. Erin handled the recipe selection this month, using a cookbook that I just happened to have on the shelves that I have been neglecting by fellow food blogger Lindsay Landis, […]

Can you smell that? On your ride home with the car window cracked, it’s there the far off smell of grills firing up. On your walk around the block, the aroma of freshly lit charcoal is calling out to you. Winter has finally started to subside and with as long as this one has been, there is going to be no time wasted digging out the grills. With temps approaching hot this weekend, and a little sun burn staining my shoulders, I cleaned the grill grates on my smoker, charcoal grill, and gas grill and got to grilling. It was […]

In all the craziness, I haven’t busted open the cookbooks since October, for the Pass the Cook Book Club! I am super excited to be back with the club. This month Christiane from Taking On Magazines picked the recipes from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook. All three of the recipes she picked sounded out of this world! Choosing one was rough, but I chose wisely. I love Christiane’s site. She and I often flip through the same magazines, and have even teamed up in the past on the same recipe. She has my kind of taste buds (except, I have a […]

Looking for a fun date night appetizer? Or heck, maybe this will be the whole first course before you take things away from the dinner table. This goat cheese fondue is simple, but delicious. Fondue is fun, interactive, and get’s people playing with their hands. Light some candles, bust out the Barry Manilow and let’s get some Valentine’s Day date night cooking going on. Who doesn’t love gooey warm cheese? Especially when its light and flavorful all at the same time. Bring on the apron and pearls. They will never know how easy it was, and you will get all the praise. […]

Bet you’re thinking, “She’s a food blogger, course she’s planning some stellar sort of knock your socks off and right into bed Valentine’s Day meal.” Well… Let me disappoint you. I’ve got nothing. No fancy chocolaty molten dessert, no candlelit dinner, no Etta James to set the mood. I don’t even know what I’m making yet and there is nothing thawing in my freezer. To be perfectly honest, I’m thinking of a great little pizza place that may just fit the bill. Beer, pizza, and later that night some Archer to really set the mood. Hopefully, you are all far more prepared then myself and have […]

This time of year I am more than guilty of binging on heavy meals – I mean those carb laden heavy meals that sit in your tummy until lunch the next day. Those guilty kinds of means. The heavy ones that are oh so worth it. (The sweat your tush off at the gym the next day meals) And lasagna has to be one of my favorites. I had to travel a few weekends ago and wanted to leave something hearty and delicious behind for my man and these little lasagna rolls were born. I baked them in personal gratin […]

Weeknight dinners are rough. Especially in December when the whole world seems to be spinning a wee bit faster. I get home and it’s dark, I’ve worked all day and I am dog tired. And heck, I don’t even have kids I have to worry about! But I take no excuses in the Pass the Sushi kitchen and believe there is always time for a real supper no matter how crazy things get. (Except for tonight, when I’m probably just picking up a pizza. Don’t judge.) For those of you who want some real meal inspiration on the quick and easy for the month […]

Early sunsets are not good for a darned thing. With the sun setting at like noon, I’ve been acting like an old woman. Just feed me, give me my pills, and put me to bed to the tune of Jeopardy. Ok, maybe not that bad, but it certainly feels like it. I never knew I was a summer person until this year. I don’t want to cook as much, go out as much, certainly can’t take as many pictures, or drive after dark. (See, little. old. lady.) The one thing cold dark nights are good for? Carbohydrates. Tons and tons of […]

It’s Thanksgivings eve and the last thing I want to think about is turkey. I’m going to have piles of turkey and turkey leftovers tomorrow. So tonight all I want is a quick and simple meal. Nothing is faster or easier than a stir fry. And it’s my secret weapon when I feel like we have been carb binging and I need to sneak some veggies in. With some coconut milk and red curry paste, I might as well be in heaven. Who needs a turkey? This is where it’s at. OK, won’t lie. I still want some turkey, but that’s only […]

Cooking for two is tough. Stupid tough. Everything is packaged either too big or too small. I feel like Goldilocks. Don’t get me wrong, we eat like champs around here and I’m not looking to make everything with tiny portions, but some nights we just need something for the two of us that doesn’t leave us dreading leftovers for the next few nights. Lately I have been trying to tie in a few more cooking for two recipes on the blog. Where I do love making big meals, these quick and easy date night dinners (and desserts) have been awesome. […]

Maybe it’s because I have already spotted Halloween decorations in someones front yard and that stores are already decorating the aisles in red and green, but the upcoming fall cookbook releases have me scratching to write a letter to Santa. Or to at least do some serious hint dropping. So in order of my most anticipated cookbook to the ones I just really want, here is my wish list. Top 10 Cookbooks for Fall 2012 Baked Elements: Simply put, the Baked cookbooks are the books you can not live without. Whenever I need a stunning, no fail, guaranteed delicious recipe, I flip through the […]

Thai is one of those cuisines that I love to have, if I’m not the one cooking it. The subtle flavors have a way of knocking my socks off with their clean and crisp tastes. Every individual component is often recognized and acknowledged in a dish, in a was that works out a perfect balance. Slowly, I am becoming more familiar with ingredients in traditional Thai cooking and challenging myself to try some new dishes in my own kitchen. This simple chicken with basil was perfect for two on a weeknight> Served with a small portion of brown rice, we mixed everything […]

Everything’s cuter in mini form right? Coopers, dogs, hobbits – all irresistible. Skirts are the only mini that come to mind that need a little more personal censorship… And we all know what happens when you shrink desserts down to a mini size. We go gaga over them. Mini muffins, doughnuts, tarts, and more call us to them with an un-natural amount of gravity for their pint sized portions. Mini ice cream container? Oh, yeah, I’ll finish you. Tiny cookie, I’ll take two. So when I saw a min key lime pie… well, I’m guessing you figured it out. This Key Lime Pie […]

Managing a food blog (and yes, I did say managing for those of you who snorted because it has become a rather time consuming hobby) can be very crucial to a happy home. There is a list a few pages, sticky notes and magazines clippings long of recipes I want to try, nibbles and bites that I would love to experiment with and ingredients I would have to do a google search to identify and find. I could fill 3 squares for 365 days plus snacks and desserts, never repeat a recipe once and probably only result in adding even […]

How many of you tuned in for the Oscars? Did you throw big parties or just sit back with classy treats and enjoy Hollywood’s tribute to the movies this year? I’m not one to watch awards shows. I don’t watch enough TV or many new movies so they are rather lost on me. But I can’t help but get caught up in the roar of twitter, internet and old fashioned gossip about outfits, who’s with who, and general celebrity what nots. Whether or not you like her, I’m an Angelina Jolie fan. I don’t care who picked who as far […]

There’s something you don’t realize until you are well into your adult years – you look around and see that the friends you know all have children, are moving far away or just evolving in a direction that is not as connected to you any more. Sure you can catch up from time to time, hang out on occasion and meet up for meals, but its not like when you were younger where you played with the same group of friends every day. It’s also harder to meet people, between work and life where do you meet new friends if […]

By the time you are reading this, I will be on my way to Dallas to hobnob with other comic retailers, distributors, vendors, and the guys who make the capes fly. To say traveling for work is fun would be a tab bit of a lie. Sure, I have a blast while I’m there, I get to meet great people and rock the comic business, but leaving my two cats, the dog and free snuggles behind really pulls at my heart strings. I know its only a short time, which is nothing compared to people who travel a lot for […]

If you were to have the impression that I cook a lot, you would be right. And through all most of my experiments, recipes, failures, and success, Handsome sits and eats without saying a word. I ask if it was good, and he may nod, or say yes, but there is rarely any excitement in his voice. After a while, you just come to terms with it. He wouldn’t care if I fed him macaroni and cheese for weeks on end, he would nod and say it was good (which may be something I considered for a while just to see […]

Who needs reality TV – if you could follow Handsome and I around on a mundane Tuesday night, you would never slump to the lows of the Jersey Shore ever again. I promise. See, we are a sippy cup kind of special. You won’t hear us having thought provoking conversation that would eventually lead to the cure for cancer. No sweet poems would pass our lips with candlelight and music filling the air. No long conversations about the duldrums of one’s job. Nope. You’d see him chasing me around the house with a spoon covered in macaroni and have to put up with […]